


Blood Red Thread

by ghiralink



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Demon/Human Relationships, Dubious Consent, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Humiliation, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Masochism, Master/Slave, Non-Human Genitalia, Oral Sex, Power Dynamics, Public Sex, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sadism, Sexual Slavery, Spandexverse, Stockholm Syndrome, Tags May Change, Torture, Worldbuilding, and other fun stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 15:53:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30007263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghiralink/pseuds/ghiralink
Summary: After his defeat against the final battle with Demise, Link must learn to cope with his new life as a slave to the new demonic kingdom. Ghirahim wonders how much it will take to crush that unbreakable spirit under his heel.
Relationships: Demise/Ghirahim/Link (Legend of Zelda), Ghirahim/Link (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 13





	Blood Red Thread

**Author's Note:**

> this au was my crack in 2013
> 
> i wrote this prologue in 2016 (so don’t think too much of it… i know it’s Not Good) but in honor of ss hd i might as well do something with it. i can’t think of any fics that go in-depth with this au so i’m hyped for the worldbuilding! this au is good and deserves more content.

This was it.

This was his last chance.

Everything Link worked so hard to accomplish wouldn’t matter if he didn’t make it through this. The blood, sweat and tears he fought through for months, the grueling puzzles, the countless near-death experiences… They didn’t mean shit if he died now, if he turned back, if he decided his destiny was suddenly too much weight to carry.

Link felt nauseous. His stomach twisted as he weighed the intensity of the situation, feeling the same anxiety he experienced when his childhood friend first slipped from his grasp, and he woke up uncertain if she was dead or alive.

He had to do this. He couldn’t lose her again. No—if he gave up now, he’d lose more than just Zelda. He’d lose everything. His friends, his instructors, his entire world… He’d lose it all to the darkness he’d been battling since the day he took the Goddess Sword in his hands.

Forcing his unease to the back of his mind, Link stepped toward the menacing portal that laid in the center of the Sealed Grounds. It emitted a mighty glow of both purple and black, the center as eerie and empty as a black hole. It might as well have been one; Link felt as though stepping into it would crush him.

His hands trembled unconsciously, but Link clenched his fists and reminded himself that he was the embodiment of courage. He was chosen to fulfill this path, and he was born to be brave enough to face this very moment. After all he’d been through, what could stop him now? 

“ _Master Link, I have important information for you_ ,” a familiar, robotic voice informed, snapping Link out of his train of thought. He glanced up at Fi as she left his blade, and despite her emotionless exterior, Link felt comforted by her presence. “ _Once you enter this portal, my analysis indicates a zero percent chance you will be able to return, unless you are able to vanquish your foe. Are you ready to proceed?_ ”

 _Not yet_ … Link wanted to say, but he had no excuses. He wore the strongest sword and shield on his back, filled his pouch to the brim with potions and medals, stocked up on ammunition. He knew he was ready.

He nodded.

“ _Understood, Master Link. Know that even in the place that lies beyond this portal, I will be with you_ …

“ _And, Master… good luck_.”

Link stared at the spirit, his eyes filled to the brim with uncertainty. But Fi always believed in him, didn’t she? No matter how impassive she seemed, her words held warmth and reassurance in the most ironic of ways. After all, she was the one who told him it was okay to be afraid before he entered Skyview Temple.

_It’s okay to be afraid._

After one deep breath, Link felt a surge of determination push him forward into the portal, and he vanished into the new world that waited for him on the other side.  


⠀  
⠀

* * *

⠀  
⠀

Cold washed over him in one fell swoop. The water beneath his feet soaked into his boots, drenching his socks and dampening the skin inside. Goosebumps crawled onto his arms and sent chills up his spine, and he saw his breath when he exhaled.

“Ah, so you’ve decided to meet your end in battle after all. It pleases me greatly to see such misplaced valor, human.”

Demise was a massive creature, surely fitting of the title of The Demon King. Black scales encompassed his body, red tints emitting from the edge of each obsidian layer, as his hair swelled with a never-ending flame. Link wondered if it was as hot to the touch as it looked.

The demon’s eyes glared down into the small hero’s, ruby meeting sapphire. Determined to not appear fazed by Demise’s intimidating appearance, Link narrowed his eyes challengingly and slid the Master Sword out of its sheath. His anxiety hadn’t left him by any means, but hell if he would let his enemy see the fear underneath.

Amusement playing at the corners of his mouth, Demise continued without skipping a beat. “Take a moment to appreciate your surroundings, for where we stand shall serve as your tomb for eternity.”

Demise began to walk, his footsteps heavy and echoing throughout the endless wasteland. Link’s grip tightened on the hilt of his blade as he watched the demon move, so tightly he could feel sweat gathering on his hands despite the chilly atmosphere.

“The hate for the gods that has boiled in my veins… You will taste it all in the bite of my blade.

“The only question is how long you will manage to remain standing before I take your life.” Demise turned to face the hero, his teeth barred like a predator ready to devour its prey. “Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?”

His hand extended towards Link, hands curled into claws. “And when you do fall, know that your world and everything in it will be mine to dominate… Mine to subjugate… Mine to rule! When I finish with you, you can take solace in knowing your friends and kin will soon follow, as I wipe all who oppose me from the face of this world!”

With that, the demon swiped his hand upward, turning the formerly clear sky into shades of ebony. Link remained firm, moving into an appropriate fighting stance and glaring daggers straight into the eyes of his enemy.

The demon king scowled. “…It won’t be long now. At last, the almighty power I’ve sought for millennia…

“…I will take the Triforce for my own…

“…And the world shall be under my foot for eternity!”

The final battle had begun.

Making the first move, Link’s sword clashed against Demise’s with a resounding clank that echoed throughout the infinite arena. He tried again, only to be faced with the same result, the demon blocking Link almost effortlessly. The hero grimaced and pulled his sword backwards, the metal sliding off of Demise’s blade smoothly.

With a loud cry, Demise attacked, but Link was quick enough to block the move with his shield before the massive weapon sliced through his skull. The demon stumbled back with the impact, giving Link time to slash his sword forward and pierce the thick skin covering Demise’s torso.

Demise recovered quickly, striking across Link’s shield and earning yet another block that sent the enemy staggering backwards. Link had confidence in his ability to deflect each attack and earn his justice with a slice across the demon’s chest, resulting in yet another abrupt cry from the self-proclaimed king’s throat.

Link grinned in triumph. _What reason was there to be afraid?_

Breathing out roughly, Demise took a few steps back and casted his hand across the sky once more. Link’s defenses rose as it changed from its eerie color to a dark blue, lightning illuminating across the clouds and open sky.

Link gripped his blade so tightly he left prints on the hilt. He stepped around Demise cautiously, water sloshing under his boots and soaking them as he eyed the demon’s every movement.

Lightning clashed down upon Demise—and to the young hero’s horror—lit up across the king’s weapon, igniting the blade with electricity. The villain immediately charged straight for Link, sword raised, and all Link could think to do was shove out his shield in hopes it wouldn’t shatter into thousands of metal shards upon impact.

A few minor jolts of electricity made their way through him as electric current met metal, but his Hylian shield stayed perfectly intact.

Link glanced up to see Demise stumble backwards from the block, and the hero took the chance to slice the Master Sword across that onyx chest before their swords clashed and Link rolled to the side. Lightning struck the sky above his head, and Link looked up, panting with exhaustion and racking his brain for ideas. 

_Perhaps_ …

As Demise recollected himself, Link raised his sword to draw lightning to his position. Just as suspected, his sword lit up with an electric charge identical to the king’s weapon just before, and as the mighty demon prepared to charge, Link sent the burst of electricity flying straight at him.

While worry ate him alive before, now Link felt practically high on adrenaline, oozing with overconfidence. Demise let out a furious clamor as the impact sent him flying onto his back, entire body racked with electrical tremors. That was it; Link’s chance to _end this_ once and for all.

With a heroic cry, Link raised his sword and aimed to drive it straight into the demon’s heart. 

…Until Demise leapt away before Link could pierce him. The Master Sword drove into the water, sinking into the solid ground underneath. In a sudden panic, Link tugged up on the hilt with all his might, desperately attempting to free his blade before Demise could retaliate—but just as Link managed to slide it out, Demise’s charged weapon came crashing down into his side.

The impact sent Link soaring and crashing onto nearby ground. He violently shook as shocks raced through his system and he suddenly lost the ability to breathe, only faintly aware of Fi calling for him.

It didn’t matter. Link welcomed the sweet release of the darkness that covered him and saved him from the pain of consciousness.


End file.
